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Clippers Grab First Win of the 2025 Season, 109-104 in Denver
Having lost a brutal first game of the season in a nail-biter at home, the Clippers went on the road and snagged an impressive 109-104 win in Denver in another tight contest. We are mostly not going to be doing recaps this year, but the first win of the season felt like it deserved one.
The Clippers outplayed the Nuggets for most of the game, but some absurd shotmaking by Nikola Jokic (41 points on 14-26 shooting, 7-11 from three) kept the Nuggets in it after they went down big early. The Nuggets even had a small lead at points in the final frame, but shotmaking by Norm Powell and some clutch James Harden free throws ultimately won the day. Here are some notes.
Big Zu, Big Time: The biggest story of the Clippers’ first two games, on an individual level, is the play of Ivica Zubac. Big Zu had 24 points on 11-17 shooting, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block, and played an incredible 39 minutes. He has scored 20 points in back to back games for the first time in his career, the exact kind of scoring that the Clippers needed with Kawhi out and Paul George gone. His defense on Jokic was honestly pretty good, Jokic is just insane. And his ability to play 39 minutes and still be solid at the end with one of the highest minutes totals of his career was highly impressive. If he continues to play even close to this level, the Clippers just might be able to stay afloat without Kawhi.
Harden, in Control: This was Harden at his late-career best. Compared to his performance against the Suns, where he took 29 shots and was forcing things, Harden took just 11 in this one and was content to orchestrate the show. He still scored 23 points, largely due to 12-13 from the line, and will need to be aggressive in other games, but his playmaking was on full display in this one. The seven turnovers were a lot, but considering how much he had the ball they weren’t a shock. More importantly, he was nearly always in control and kept the trains running on time. There are plenty of limitations to Harden’s game now, but he’s still damn good on the offensive end.
Norm, Explosive: Norm Powell had a game for the ages, scoring 37 points on 14-21 shooting and 7-11 from three. He simply could not miss, especially in the 4th quarter, and was unstoppable despite solid Denver defense. Norm obviously won’t be this hot most nights, but the Clippers could really use him taking that many threes on a nightly basis, as he’s the only high-volume shooter on the team outside of Harden. Great stuff.
Role Players Stepping Up: While the three guys above were the stars of the show, Kris Dunn, Nic Batum, Derrick Jones Jr., and Amir Coffey were excellent on defense and generally made solid plays. The Clippers could not have won without them filling the gaps and getting stops, with Jones and Dunn also scoring 20 points between them.
Porter Jr. Off: Kevin Porter Jr. wasn’t the only disappointing Clipper in this one (Terance Mann was nearly invisible), but he was the most actively bad, as he went 2-10 from the field in 15 minutes and had 2 turnovers to 1 assist. He ended with a +8 because the Nuggets bench was awful and other Clippers stepped up, but this was another awful performance by Porter, who was forcing up difficult shots and not getting particularly close on them. The Clippers will probably stick with him for a bit, but a couple more games like this and the Clippers should go elsewhere.
Clippers Grab First Win of the 2025 Season, 109-104 in Denver
Robert Flom